)Brn> 


Duke   University  Libraries 

The  Sailor  lost 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #667 


No.  52. 
THE 


,    SAILOR 


LOST  AND  FOUND 


A  TRUE  STORY. 


CHARLESTON,    S.    C: 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  SOUTH  CAROLINA  TRACT  SOCIETY. 
Evans  &  Cogswell,  Printers,  No.  3  Broad  street. 


THE  SAILOR  LOST  AND  FOUND. 

A    TRUE    STORY. 


On  the  morning-  of  the  25th  of  February,  1851,  the 
dawning  light  disclosed  a  scene  of  the  deepest  distress 
on  the  broad  expanse  of  the  North  sea.  Racked  in 
body   and    tortured    in    mind,  four   successive    days  had 

James   D-5 and  his  companions  strained   their  eyes 

in  search  of  a  sail.  Death  was  apparently  approach- 
ing. The  suffering  from  cold  was  intense.  Their  posi- 
tion on  the  mast,  the  only  remains  of  their  vessel,  which 
had  foundered,  and  to  which  they  were  lashed,  being 
such  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  their  moving. 
Wave  after  wave  dashed  over  them;  hour  after  hour 
rolled  on  ;  but  not  one  speck  betokening  a  sail  darkened 
the  horizon.  Apart  from  the  consciousness  of  present 
suffering,  there  might  be  traced  on  the  countenances  of 

all,    but  James    D ,  a  fulfilment  of  the  truth,    "the 

wicked  have  no  bands  in  their  death."  There  appeared 
a  sullen  carelessness  of  what  was  to  be,  when  the  last 
sigh  had  been  drawn,  and  the  spirit  had  returned  to  the 
God  who  gave  it.  Occasionally  the  awful  silence  which 
reigned  on  the  face  of  the  waters  was  broken  by  the 
expression  of  a  hope  from  one  of  the  sufferers,  that 
"  they  would  fare  as  well  as  their  neighbors,  were  they 
unable  to  weather  the  present  storm." 

No   such   ill-founded  hopes    lessened    what  appeared 
to   be    the  dying  agonies   of  James   D ;   the   terrors 


4  THE    SAILOR    LOST    AND    FOUND. 

of  "  the  worm  that  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  that  never 
shall  be  quenched,"  seemed  to  be  placed  before  him  : 
and  with  bitter  groans,  as  he  gazed  around,  above,  be- 
neath, he  exclaimed,  "  I  am  a  lost  sinner,  for  I  have 
sinned  against  light.  My  mother's  prayers  and  advice 
I  scorned,  and  now  my  soul  is  damned — I  am  without 
hope." 

But  deliverance  was  at  hand.  "A  sail !  a  sail!"  was 
feebly  uttered  by  one  of  the  sufferers.  There  were  two 
men  on  that  mast  whose  hearts  were  never  to  throb 
again,  either  in   expectation  of  woe  or  joy;  the  waves 

had  done  their  appointed  work,  and  the  souls  of  J.  O 

and    F.   T stood    before    a    ''reconciled   Father  in 

Christ/'  or  an  angry  Judge. 

A  few  moments  of  intense  anxiety  was  still  the  por- 
tion of  the  surviving  crew,  for  it  was  by  no  means  cer- 
tain   that   the   vessel  saw  them;  but  soon  she  appeared 

to  be   bearing  up  to  them,  and  James  D ,  and  his 

three  companions  rescued  from  destruction,  were  carried 
beHow;  James  D in  a  state  of  insensibility. 

Again   the    bright  morning  light  streamed  in  upon  a 

scene  of  suffering,  in  which  James  D bore  his  sad 

part.  The  dead  and  the  dying  were  around,  and  again 
his  countenance  bore  the  marks  of  despair. 

"  Now,"  he  cried  out  as  he  tossed  about  on  his  fever- 
ish bed,  "  now  I  am,  indeed,  without  hope;  the  good 
resolutions  I  made  on  the  mast  have  been  broken,  and 
now  the  Lord  will  laugh  at  my  calamity,  mock  at  my 
fear  :  for  oh  !  how  often  have  I  refused  His  gracious 
invitations." 

Pays  passed  on,  when,  in  the  ordering  of  God's  prov- 
idence, a  captain  in   the   navy  was  led  to  the  bedside  of 

James  D ;   but    oh,  how  changed   was  he  from  the 

hardened  sailor  of  oilier  days  !     "Sir,"  said  the  sufferer, 


THE    SAILOR    LOST    AND    FOUND. 


r> 


as  his  visitor  enquired  whether  he  had  lt  a  good  hope 
through  grace/'  "Sir,  I  have  a  hope  which  is  as  an 
anchor  to  my  soul,  both  sure  and  steadfast.  I  have 
been  led  to  cast  anchor  on  the  Rock  of  ages,  and  all  the 
waves  of  time,  and  all  the  storms  of  eternity,  shall  be 
unable  to  unmoor  me.  This  illness,  sir,  has  been  blessed 
to  me,   through  the  goodne.ss  of  God;  a  book  of  sermons 

sent  to   me  by  Mr.  ,  was  the  means  of  bringing  me 

to  Jesus,  my  only  hope,  my  precious  Saviour.  I  was 
the  child  of  many  prayers:  they  were  registered  on 
high  :  they  are  now  answered." 

Many  interesting  visits  were  paid  to  the  dying  man 
by  Captain . 

The  Spirit  which  worketh,  as  well  as  a  maketh  inter- 
cession according  to  the  will  of  God,"  appeared  swiftly 
completing  the  work  of  sanctification  in  his  soul. 

In   the    course   of   conversation,  Captain  asked 

him  what  were  his  feelings  when  lashed  to  the  mast. 

fi  Oh,  sir,"  he  replied,  "  they  were  awful;  I  have 
hardly  dared  bring  them  to  my  recollection  !  At  times, 
from  the  excessive  cold,  I  was  nearly  insensible:  but 
there  were  moments  of  horror  quite  indescribable;  hell 
seemed  to  accompany  every  wave ;  and  each  wave 
brought  hell  more  vividly  before  my  eyes." 

Captain   . asked    him  if  he   did  not  try  to  pray. 

"  No,  sir,"  was  his  answer,  u  Satan  would  not  allow  me 
to  pray:  he  whispered  to  me,  You  have  nothing  to  do 
with  prayer,  there  is  no  hope.  This  is  all  I  can  remem- 
ber, for  by  the  time  the  vessel  that  picked  us  up  hailed 
us,  I  was  insensible  to  all  outward  things." 

About    two  months  passed,  when  in   one  of  Captain 

visits,  James    D informed  him,    with    a    sad 

countenance,  that  there  was  a  proposition  to  remove  him 
to ,  many  miles  from  his  present  scene  of  "suffering. 


6  THE    SAILOR    LOST    AND    FOUND 

But  one  thought  seemed  to  distress  the  dying  man. 
"Sir,"  he  exclaimed  with  deep  feeling,  "I  shall  lose 
your  visits!"  Alter  a  moment's  pause,  as  faith  and 
hope  asserted  their  power  to  make  up  for  every  loss,  he 
added  with  a  look  of  earnest  thankfulness,  "I  leave 
this  place  with  that  which  can  never  be  lost." 

Reader,  before  you  read  these  lines,  James  D will 

be  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  that  which  never  can  be 
lost;  and  what  is  it?  All  that  is  comprised  in  being 
an  "  heir  of  God  and  a  joint  heir  with  Christ" — a  new 
heart,  a  living  faith.  Have  you  got  these  things  ?  Can 
you  look  up,  and  thank  God  that  you  have  that  which 
never  can  be  lost?  Then  fear  not  difficulties,  fear  not 
trials,  but  "Go  forward." 

Reader,  have  you  not  got  that  which  never  can  be 
lost?  then  sit  down  quietly  and  seek  rightly  to  estimate 
your  misery. 

You  have  life,  but  in  your  calling  it  is  frequently 
exposed  to  danger — it  may  be  lost!  You  have  health 
to-day,-  but  to-morrow — it  may  be  lost!  You  have 
regular  employment  now,  perhaps  a  boat  of  your  own, 
but  one  storm,  and — it  may  be  lost!  You  have  a 
happy  home,  wife  and  children,  but  you  cannot  shut  to 
your  door,  and  shut  out  death — they  may  be  lost  ! 
You  have  a  soul,  and — it  is  a  lost  soul!  There  is  but 
one  thing  which  will  not  be  lost,  if  you  continue  in 
your  present  state.  Sinner,  do  you  wish  to  know  what 
is  your  only  certain  possession?  It  is — eternal  mis- 
ery! All  your  earthly  blessings  will  soon  be  lost,  and 
heaven  is  also  lost ! 

Oli,  turn  not  away!  Stay  not  to  curse  the  day  in 
which  you  were  born,  but  listen  to  words  of  hope. 
"Tin*  Son  of  man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
iv as  lost.'* 


THE    SAILOR    LOST    AND    FOUND.  7 

Do  you  ask  for  His  authority  ?  He  was  "  sent  of 
God."  Do  you  say,  Is  He  willing?  Hear  His  words: 
"Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are,  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest."  And,  again,  "  Him  that 
cometh  unto  me  1   will   in   nowise  cast  out."      Do  you 

inquire  as  to  His  power?      We  point  to  James  D , 

once  miserable  though  in  health,  now  happy  though  in 
a  hospital  on  a  death-bed.* 

Go  to  Jesus.  Pray  to  Jesus.  Ask  Him  to  send  His 
Holy  Spirit  to  change  your  heart  and  lead  you  to  wash 
in  "the  fountain  opened  for  sin  and  uncleanness;"  and 
then,  though  frequently  tossed  about  by  the  waves  of 
tribulation,  you  will  never  lose  sight-of  Jesus,  "  the 
bright  and  morning  star."  As  regards  your  soul,  the 
promise  is,  that  "  the  waters  shall  not  overflow  thee;" 
and  then,  though  your  grave  may  be  in  the  wide  seas, 
and  the  thoughtless  world  and  your  own  acquaintances 
may  forget  you,  not  even  laying  your  death  to  heart  for 
a  moment,  you  will  but  be  "taken  away  from  the  evil 
to  come;"  your  name  will  be  "  written  in  heave^L  and 
when  "  the  sea  gives  up  the  dead  which  are  in  it^you, 
in  a  brighter  land,  where  there  will  be  "  no  more  sea," 
will  gaze  upon  Him,  who  rose  as  "the  Sun  of  righte- 
ousness," on  the  ocean  of  your  despair  and  misery. 

You  may  have  trials,  heavy  trials,  but  they  will  not 
be  lost  trials  ;  they  will  lead  you  closer  to  Jesus  :  you 
will  have  difficulties,  but  fear  no  evil. 

"Loud  roaring,  the  billows  would  thee  overwhelm. 
But  skilful  the  Pilot  that  sits  at  the  helm  ; 
His  wisdom,  His  power,  His  faithfulness  stand, 
Engaged  to  conduct  thee  in  safety  to  land." 


J5  THE    SAILOR    LOST    AND    FOUND. 

Reader,  seek  that  which  cannot  be  lost  —  a  saving 
interest  in  the  blood  of  THE  SINNER'S  FRIEND, 
and  then  you  can  sing — 

Sav'd  by  blood,  I  live  to  tell 

What  the  love  of  Christ  hath  done; 
He  redeem'd  my  soul  from  hell, 

Of  a  rebel  made  a  son. 
Oh  !   I  tremble  still  to  think, 

How  secure  I  liv'd  in  sin; 
Sporting  on  destruction's  brink, 

Yet  preserv'd  from  falling  in. 

In  His  own  appointed  hour, 

To  my  heart  the  Saviour  spoke  ; 
Touch'd  me  by  His  Spirit's  power, 

And  my  dangerous  slumber  broke. 
Then  I  saw  and  own'd  my  guilt ; 

Soon  my  gracious  Lord  reply'd — 
"  Fear  not.  I  my  blood  have  spilt, 

'Twas  for  such  as  thee  1  died."' 

Shame  and  wonder,  joy  and  love, 

All  at  once  possess'd  my  heart  ; 
Can  I  hope  thy  grace  to  prove, 

After  acting  such  a  part? 
"  Thou  hast  greatly  sinn'd,"  Pie  said, 

"  But,  I  freely  all  forgive: 
I  myself  thy  debt  have  paid, 

Now  I  bid  thee  rise  and  live." 


Hollinger  Corp. 
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